Sing for Us (Ps 137)

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yes, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there are those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”(vs1-3)

We can’t sing the songs of salvation and rejoice in Christ under the bondage of sin (vs1-4). We must be delivered.  He says, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”  Yet, instead of hypocrisy, we honestly weep, honestly mourn, and we trust Him to deliver us in due time, rather than pretend.  Paul wrote, “For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.  Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing” (2 Cor 7:8-9).  Our sins mock us, our failures ask us, “Where is your God”, and we must fight off despair with the truth that it will be well for us eventually.  We are not people who have happy times every day, but we know the bitter consequences of sin.  They teach us to trust Christ, but they don’t break us from our hope.

Secondly, if we forget God because He is far from us, it proves that we don’t know Him (vs4-6). He says, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth – if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy”. God’s people, in spite of consequences for sin, have a deep and irrevocable love that He’s put in us (1 John 4:19). We love the church, love the gospel, and we love Him more than pleasure.  It isn’t happiness that we want; it is God who makes us happy, and this can’t be found anywhere except in Christ.

Many leave Christ because of lost pleasure, but they loved feelings instead of the Savior, and they didn’t believe, not really, in the grace that He gives. But, Babylonian bondage makes the saints LONG for God, for we miss what we’ve lost. We’ve known better days, and sin has been a liar, giving us pain instead of peace.  Bless God, you and I mourn, and even when forsaken and rejected, even when miserable and burdened, we WILLINGLY choose God over sin and holiness over unrighteousness.

Finally, the Lord Jesus, eventually, shall deliver us, and we are sure (vs7-9). He says, “Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, ‘Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation! O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, happy the one who repays you as you have served us! Happy the one who takes and ashes your little ones against the rock!” We are like children kicked to the ground by a taunting bully, speaking of the time when our Brother shall come and guide us safely. He who oppresses us, even sin, Satan, and ungodly people, shall have their mouths shut when Christ DELIVERS us from sin. Like the Hebrew boys who were in the flaming fire, bondage to our enemies NEVER breaks our trust in Christ, only in ourselves, even as the shackles that bound them were burned, while the smoke didn’t even linger on their person (Deut 3:24-27).  We MOURN now, but we shall rejoice, so we rejoice now, even while we wait on full deliverance soon to come.

“They Have Not Prevailed Against Me” (Ps 129)

“Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth’, Let Israel now say – ‘Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed against me” (vs1-2).

God’s grace doesn’t allow sin to rule over us - not our inward sin, nor the sins of others, no matter how much they try to lead us off Christ (vs1-4).  We keep believing, and we are sure that He is the Christ, the Son of God. Therefore, we worship Him accordingly.

The Christian’s life isn’t roses and “Easy Street”; it is warfare, many times, day after day. He says, “The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long” (vs3). The world wants you to trust yourself and to pursue the things of the world, but God keeps us going by conviction, by revealing lies as lies, and by giving us STRENGTH in our need. He says, “The Lord is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked”, and broken the power of sin. 

In ourselves, we’d be destroyed.  Like Judas, we would leave Christ for a little money, or like Esau, for a single meal!  Scripture says, “Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright” (Heb 12:16).  The human condition is dreadful, but the One Hope of Christ is ours assuredly. He proves His power by keeping us, manifesting that He saves for real!

He is sufficient for our sins, our temptations, and every struggle that we endure.  Like a prize fighter who wins in the end, we have scars from the battle.  Paul said that he bore in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus, and we bear our marks too (Gal 6:17).  We have the temptress at work, tempters everyone around us, and every unbeliever is of the devil, wishing to hide our light and pull us into sin (2 Cor 4:4).  But, we have God, the Lord Jesus’ blood, and the Spirit’s faithful and continual help. We conquer, because God loves us, and so, we love Him.

Finally, do not be easy on heretics and people who deny sovereign grace (Ps 129:5-8).  Don’t give them the, “It’s OK that you don’t believe the truth. God loves you”, speech, for it isn’t true! He says, “Let all those who hate Zion be put to shame and turned back.  Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, with which the reaper does not fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves, his arms.  Neither let those who pass by them say, ‘The blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord!”

He loves all men as He provides food and gladness, and He is willing for all to be saved.  But, if I don’t believe on Christ, God’s WRATH and not His saving love abides on me.  John the Baptist said, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). I have no reason to believe I’m loved by God, like Jacob, unless, like Jacob, I’ve come to Christ and endure.

The grace of God is ONLY in Christ, and outside of Him, we are cursed (Rom 8:38-39). It isn’t possible to hate the gospel and live tempting others into sin, persecuting the way of light, and then to expect salvation. God can’t reward someone who’s suffered who’s suffered for the gospel and forsaken all with the same blessings as someone who rejected Christ and led others to hell. This cannot be.  If we are in Christ, then we are cared for, safe, and loved.  He will prove Himself continually more gracious than our ability to declare.  Yet, He will show wrath to His enemies, and we are not to support or speak well of false gospels (2 John 1:9-11).

I see men in my day giving in to the signs and wonders movement, as if babbling is speaking in tongues, when it bears no relationship to scripture and God’s gift in Acts (Acts 2:1-12).  I see people who hate sovereignty in God coddled as Christians, when the bible says it’s either election – God saving whom He wills and predetermining us from before the foundation of the world – or it is works, survival of the fittest, and one man being stronger than another (Rom 9:11-16).  I see holiness of life cast away, as we lower the standards, and it is wrong.  No one, except those who follow Christ according to the Scriptures, is of God.  Those who do righteousness truly love Him, and they are loved (3 John 1:11). Those who do wickedness don’t know Him, and He will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”, when He meets them in Judgment (Matt 7:23).  In Christ, all is well.  Outside of Him, you’re God’s enemy, you persecute His church, and you’ll be justly punished for your sin.

“Shall Doubtless Come Again With Rejoicing” (Ps 126)

Those who sow in tears

Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him. (vs5-6)

Rejoicing in the Lord’s salvation is good: we take what He’s given us, delighting in our salvation (vs1-3). He says, “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad.” We go through many struggles in life, but salvation is assured, and when experienced, it is to be rejoiced in, and we’re to feel the blessing inwardly.  We are not the sour puss of faith, the one always complaining and mourning, the one who can’t see the bright side. But, even as we fight sin and temptation, even as we war with unbelief and terrors, saying, “Bring back our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the South”, we rejoice in the Lord always, and what He’s done for us (vs4). 

Let us trace God’s dealings all the way to salvation, and receive the reality of it joyfully.  We are sinners, but He’s chosen to save, so rejoice (Phil 4:3-13).  We have problems that we shall be saved from, so rejoice in hope.

Joy is the believer’s portion, because salvation is the believer’s sure inheritance.  We have tears and joy… problems and salvation.

Secondly, go on weeping and laboring by faith: God WILL give you joy, faithfully.  He says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bring his harvest with him”. He assures our success as He exhorts us to continue seeking mercy for our needs. We go before Him broken hearted, weeping and in desperation, but He’s promised joy so we continue with expectation.

Never surrender to your sinfulness or be led away from Christ because of heartbreak and failure!  Keep on believing the gospel, keep preaching Christ to your family, and keep being faithful to Him in this world.  We are needy, lonely, and filthy, but He will keep giving mercy and joy in due time.

The Lord is a prayer hearing and answering God.  Behold the Son of God, weeping on Calvary’s tree for your salvation, and see Him crowned with glory, at the Father’s side, rejoicing in His accomplishments and rewards.  We read, “who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.  And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest ‘according to the order of Melchizedek’, even forever (Heb 5:7-9).  

Blessed be His name that this is guaranteed.  You shall rejoice, if you weep by faith.  Call upon Him, look to Him, and do His bidding in the tough times. He will give the joy of success, the joy of His faithfulness, and the joyful deliverance.  He will wipe away your tears and replace them with laughter. This promise is from God, so we go forward, even amidst great anguish, in tremendous hope. We never say, “It’s not worth it. There is no reward.” Or, “It’s too hard, and I can’t be saved”. No, we know there’s time to weep, time to keep pressing, and then time to inherit bliss.

“Until He Has Mercy On Us” (Ps 123)

“Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us” (vs1-2).

We are dependent on God for salvation, so we LOOK to Him, “until He has mercy on us”. We can’t overcome in our strength, so we need His grace to be our sufficiency (2 Cor 12:7-9).  He didn’t save us to be anything less than dependent, and the believer’s life is continually casting ourselves upon Christ IN troubles and fears.

We need comfort, so we come to Him for grace, and He assures us that we’re saved, and therein we find relief. He is with us for Christ’s sake, has put away all of our sins, and God accepts us wholeheartedly without reservation.  Our pleadings and the answer that He gives teaches us that He will GRACIOUSLY enable us to overcome persecution and rejection, until we meet in heaven’s bliss.

We need power, so we come to Him weak and unable, getting grace to honoring Christ and continue believing.  Don’t be scared of your weakness and don’t handle it yourself by compromise of the gospel.  Trust Christ for salvation, and He will give it.

You are not alone.  Every saint depends on God, and only fools run around pretending they have no need.  Only those who surrender to sin are able to keep their knees from continually bowing in GREAT need before God.

Secondly, proud souls despises us, look upon us as overzealous, and even count us fools for giving up ourselves to God (vs3-4). This hurt David, as it hurts you and me.  He said, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt [looked down upon].  Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn [mockery and hatred] of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud.”  We’re looked down upon, avoided, and made to rely upon Christ because people reject us over the gospel, and it hurts! 

This inward struggle must be handled God’s way by faith in Christ. David didn’t try to minimize his zeal, but he called upon God to help, and you do the same.  Don’t cower, and never compromise Christ.  Instead, when you’re rejected and cold-shouldered over the gospel, turn to God and say, “Unto You I lift up my eyes”, and, “our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us”. He will be there for you, comfort you, and give you grace to continue.  Christ Himself suffered the pain of rejection, but He leaned on God, received assurance that He would never fail ultimately, and that the elect will be saved.  He said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God”, and again, “But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but he will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day” (Is 49:1-7; John 6:35-40). 

We are BLESSED to suffer for righteousness’ sake, because we could have been the enemies of Christ ourselves.  We’ll be rewarded for our allegiance while the wicked are punished. Christ said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you”, and prayer amidst our pain bring this reality of reward unto us (Matt 5:10-12).

This is our lot in life: we call upon God, get comforted by Him, and then we overcome the world’s hatred of Christ by drawing nearer and nearer to Him ourselves.  They live as if there is no judgment.  You live believing that it’s the only thing that matters.

“Help Comes From the Lord” (Ps 121)

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (vs1-2).

Thankfully, we have help from God.  We have no power in ourselves, and our failures teach us abundantly that we are nothing.  We’d despair, quit, and be damned eventually as slaves of sin, unless we had an OUTSIDE of us power, a God who can help.

Bless Him that in spite of our nothingness, He has chosen to help and to save.  Sin conquered us in the Garden, and we deserve its dominion, to be under its yoke and power. But, Jesus slew the dragon for us, paid for our WORST crimes against God, and He is why God will help us overcome. He loves us for Christ’s sake, and He has promised to bless us because of what He has done.

This outside help is LOOKING to the Lord Jesus, the Son of God as crucified FOR me, so that God can be near me. He says, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). We look to Him, when we have no power of our own, and we BELIEVE that He is able.  This secures us and gives us assurance!  If I had to fight in my strength, if I had to look to myself, then I would despair and give up, playing the hypocrite perhaps, but without hope, “for what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he may gain much, if God takes away his life? (Job 27:8)”  But, if God is my helper, then I have all that I need. I can rest assured, even though the battle is hot and sin brings me into captivity (Rom 7:23). I shall not be forsaken and left to die. God will help, and this is salvation guaranteed!

Look to the devil and see him stronger than you, but NEVER stronger than Christ. Look to your troubles and your fears about tomorrow as problems that you can’t fix, but rest assured that help is coming, even if you don’t feel it now and have failed before.  God is all powerful, “the creator of heaven and earth”, and this power is covenanted to help you (Ps 121:2; Heb 13:20-21).  Take this by faith alone, and you’ll experience it, more than you can ask or think.  Submit everything to Him.

Secondly, you’ve failed many times, but He won’t (vs3-8).  He says, “He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep”. You are beyond your limits, but He won’t fail to intervene.  You’ve got troubles upon troubles, but He won’t stumble or deceive. He doesn’t try to help, or DO anything less than help indeed.

Our boldness is in God.  We are BOLD in prayer because Jesus is the Name that He receives, and through Him, we can’t be rejected.  Paul says, in Christ, “we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.  Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory” (Eph 3:12-13).  God’s love made Jesus the way whereby He delights to hear us.  He smells the fragrance of Christ’s sacrifice, and He delights in our faith. We can’t be forsaken, because He can’t go back on His promises.  He overcomes the enemy, no matter the situation, 100%.

Let your fear go.  Believe the gospel and live optimistically, even in your need.  Your help amidst your desperation is coming, absolutely, every time. 

“The Charges Against Him” (Acts 25)

And Festus said, "King Agrippa and all men who are here present with us, ye see this man about whom all the multitude of the Jews have applied to me, both at Jerusalem and also here, crying out that he ought not to live any longer.   But when I found that he hath committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.   Of him I have nothing certain to write unto my lord. Therefore I have brought him forth before you, and especially before thee, O King Agrippa, that after we have examined him I might have something to write.  For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not also to specify the charges against him." (vs24-27)

Bless God that we appeal to the Judge of all the earth, the Highest Power, and we shall be found guiltless before Him.  Men sought to kill Paul, but they couldn’t bring charges that would stick, and it will be the same with you at the Judgment.  Sinners may hate you and condemn you, but God will pronounce you innocent at the Last Day for your faith in Christ.  You’ll be accepted in the Beloved, and no charge or accusation shall be seen against you, because Christ died for your sins, and the Spirit has produced holiness within you (Deut 21:1-9; Acts 20:26-27).

Don’t fear the Judgment and rest assured that God sees you.  Paul wrote, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court.  In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord” (1 Cor 4:3-4).  Just as Paul appealed to Caesar, knowing the Jews would give him trouble in Jerusalem, even so, we appeal to the Judgment seat of Christ, knowing that He approves of us.  We are not perfect, but we will be blameless, not because we are faultless in ourselves, but because we are sincere followers of the Lamb (Rev 14:4-5).  People may have accused and opposed you, but your labor isn’t in vain, and God remembers the commission that you’ve been given.  He said, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled”, and we’re doing His business (Luke 14:23). They may call you “holier than thou”, “fanatic”, or “narrow minded”, but God shall say, “Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your Lord”, and this is the only verdict that matters (Matt 25:14-30).  Who can condemn the souls that He’s justified and declared righteous? These are the people that Christ died for, and He works holiness in us by His love.

Stand against the opposition by pleading God’s judgment seat, and you’ll rest.  You’ll go about your labors peacefully and with joy.  Men may hate you, and your faithfulness may go unnoticed, but there is One who sees, and He shall reward you, “for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10).  The Jews couldn’t make charges stick against Paul, and by grace, you are blameless, too. Paul said, “I am innocent of the blood of all men.  For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27).  You walk by faith as forgiven and enabled to do good.

“Deliver My Soul” (Ps 120)

“In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me.

Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips

And from a deceitful tongue.” (vs1-2)

We have great distresses and tribulations, but the Lord hears us.  The remedy for trouble over the gospel isn’t to hide or diminish it;it is to call upon the Lord, so that He can show Himself gracious and faithful.  We are not backing up because of the troubles.  We trust the Lord, call out to Him, and He gives us the strength to overcome, rewarding us in due time.

Don’t think it is easy being God’s child. You have wars without and wars within.  Internal sin is a lifelong struggle, and you are hated by the people that you seek to do good, both.  The Lord quoted from Micah 7, which says, “Do not trust in a friend; do not put your confidence in a companion; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom.  For son dishonors father, daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.  Therefore I will look to the Lord [not to compromise]; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:5-7; Matt 10:34-39).

We are not seeking peace on earth by compromise or hiding the gospel, but every chance that you get, honor God, let the chips fall where they may, and trust Him to save you.  Trust Him when your knees shake in fear, and put your faith in Christ when they despise you over the gospel, letting your conduct be as clean as possible.  

They are not of the Father, but of their father the devil, the father of lies (Ps 120:3-7).  He says, “Woe is me, that I dwell in Meshech, that I dwell among the tends of Kedar [hostile enemy land]!  My soul has dwelt too long with one who hates peace.  I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war”. They are of darkness, fools, blind to Christ, and they love sin, so when you come preaching and living righteously, they’re offended, “for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light,lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:20). The light disturbs them like cockroaches, scurrying around in the middle of the night; it offends them, reveals their sinfulness, and they will do whatever they can to stop it and put it out.

Jesus came doing good and healing all that were oppressed, giving salvation and eternal life freely, laying down His own life for sinners, and yet men, because they’d lose their position and self-glory, thought to murder Him (John 11:48).  They even rejected Him after He was risen and came preaching grace in the apostle’s doctrine.  It is the same now with me and you.  You love people, want to see them saved, and seek NOTHING from them, except their own good.  We don’t say, “Give to support the gospel”, so that we can loaf, but so that they can bring fruit to the glory of God and have the best life by giving (2 Cor 8:10). We don’t tell people to repent because we’re hateful, but because God has eternal life and damnation, depending on what the sinner does with Christ.  Yet, you’re hated at the job, perhaps your own husband or wife despises your faithfulness, and you must patiently train your inherently evil children.  All of these things are against us.  Churches have members that hate the gospel, trouble the pastor, and cannot walk in love, despising the members of Christ’s body, but what are we to do?  Shall we return evil for evil (1 Pet 3:9)? Shall we keep quiet and “just get along” by refusing to preach what people don’t want to hear? Paul said, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men?  For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal 1:10).  No, we’ll put our faith in Christ.  Even if we must suffer, He’ll deliver us like He did His Son.  

I don’t promise an easy walk with Christ, and there is NO AVOIDING this affliction!  You can’t live holy enough to avoid it.  You can’t be tender enough, loving enough, or preach the gospel in a particular way as to avoid trouble.  In fact, the closer you get to truth, the more you may be hated, friends may turn to foes, and your good may be evil spoken of. But, it doesn’t matter.  Christ said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake” (Matt 5:11).  Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world, and you and I conquer because He is in us, fighting off lies, depression, and cowardly fear (1 John 4:4).  Bless the Lord that He gives us internal strength.  He meets our needs Himself with God glorifying grace.  Don’t think that He’ll forsake you.

He says, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me”, and I’ve had some of my sweetest fellowship when the world said “no”, and God took me into His bosom and said, “Yes” (Ps 27:10).  You have all that you need, if you have God on your side.  Use Him in your troubles, admit your sadness and fear, and receive the grace that He’s promised.  He says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it”. The God who brings the trial will enable you to bear it, and He’ll bring you to heaven to be tried no more.

Deut 20:1-4, Overcoming Sin

“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Deut 20:1).

If we want to conquer sin, then we must believe the gospel of Christ. We can’t go in our own stregnth against sin and Satan. We believe that we’re reconciled, or we don’t have the power to do good, spiritual good.  We believe that Christ died for us, and all is well, even though we are sinners. We believe the blood removes all sins because God is gracious to give the Son for us to atone for what we’ve done.  We believe the Holy Spirit is our Helper BECAUSE OF reconciliation, that being justified by faith, we get the help of God, so that He will conquer our lusts. Without this confidence in God, we can’t continue, and we’ll quit the race. Sin will rule us, and we’ll be destroyed.

“Revive Me” (Ps 119:153-160)

Consider my affliction and deliver me,

For I do not forget Your law.

Plead my cause and redeem me;

Revive me according to Your word. (vs153-154)

God’s word promises revival, so we seek Him for it.  He says, “Revive me according to Your word”.  If the bible were a book of condemnation, instead of mercy, if there was no hope for repentance and pardon, then we wouldn’t seek mercy. But, because the bible constantly talks of God forgiving and giving more grace, we seek it, even though we are sinful.  We don’t give up on mercy, because God is faithful to show it, according to His word.

The bible is a hated book, but it is also the book of hope, the only hope. Men despise the rules and judgments of scripture, and they hate Christ enthroned, but He’ll give grace to WHOMEVER wants it.  He says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13).  So, while the bible convicts us of sin and commands us to improve, it also gives grace to sinners and saints. God’s judgment that He’ll help the poor in spirit (vs155-156).  He says, “Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord; revive me according to Your judgments”.

We aren’t asking God to do anything contrary to His will, as we come to Him for mercy in our misery. But, as a Judge, He has DECLARED that He’ll justify the ungodly, give strength to the feeble, and do all this by faith in Christ.  He says, “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works” (Rom 4:5-8).  If we believe the Son, no matter what is wrong or how we’ve caused our anguish, God will help.

Finally, we want God to revive us, to encourage and enable us, according to His love (vs157-160).  He says, “Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness”.  His judgments to help the poor are favorable, but His love is another blow at our sinful unbelief and cowardice. We may BOLDLY approach the throne, because behind the gospel of God giving us His Son is the LOVE of God that saves sinners, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”, and again, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” [John 3:16; 1 John 4:10).

So, when I’m unworthy and needing help, and when all seems against you, why not lean on this love, and call God to action by His own heart’s affection?  Let us be warmed and filled by the love of Christ and this loves goodness; let us be encouraged in the future, past, and present! He is IMMEASURABLY loving, more than we can ask or think, and His love will help the wicked, lift the fallen, and strengthen the faint.  This love can be trusted and relied upon when there is NOTHING in ourselves or circumstances. He will give us what we don’t deserve through Christ.  His love is that attribute, when all has gone wrong with us, that makes us say, “There is hope in God”!

Never forget His love.  Never get into a duty gospel where His love doesn’t help the sinful.  Stand upon a higher footing than “what you deserve”, and look into Christ’s love for what He’s WILLING to give.

“Save Me” (Ps 119:145-152)

“I cry out with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord!  I will keep your statures.  I cry out to You; save me, and I will keep Your testimonies” (vs145-146)

We must be saved in order to do what God says do. He says, “Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies”. We must be loosed from our sins before we can serve.  We must be free from everything that hinders us before we can honor God.   

Nothing is on our own, because salvation, from start to finish, is by grace; it is the gift of God.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8-9).  We don’t make the first move; He does.  We don’t produce any good, unless He does it for us. So, in order to serve Him, we need Him to intervene, because we are weak.

God will hear this cry of the poor, and He’ll bless you with salvation. Ps 149:4, says, “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation” .  He won’t deny anyone crying to Him for obedience.  

Secondly, I meditate on God’s word amidst the sleepless nights caused by unbelief and circumstances (vs147-148). The Psalmist says, “I rise before the dawning of the morning.  And cry for help; I hope in Your word.  My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word”.  We don’t stay awake forgetting God, worrying about everything, but as we can’t sleep, we go to Him for grace, chew on the gospel, and receive comfort amidst our anxieties.

Recently, I’ve had problems within and without, in the home, in the bank, and on many sides.  Like you, I’ve had distresses.  But, I don’t stay awake at night murmuring or trying to figure out my own plan, as if God has forsaken me.  In the sleepless nights, we chew on the promises.  I see that Paul made tents well into his ministry, so it is OK if i must work while I preach the gospel (Acts 18:3; Acts 20:33-34).  And, I see that Habakkuk taught us, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation”, so that I’m not forsaken, and I have EVERYTHING, even God my Savior, when everything else appears out of order or disappointing (Hab 3:17-18).  It doesn’t matter.  I will trust Him who died for me.  He’s guaranteed me eternal life, and He’ll provide for me by whatever means He has determined.  He is working your pain for good.

We don’t fret as those who have no hope, but having the gospel, we chew on it and believe it, when our eyes are kept open at night.  Paul wrote, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess 4:13).  We’ll believe Christ and encourage ourselves in the Lord.  We’ll seek His guidance, and His strength to do His will.  

Finally, everything God says is truth (149-152).  The Psalmist said, “You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth”.  

You may wonder, “I’ve left all to follow Him, denying myself daily.  Am I wrong?”  But, you are not.  You may say, “He commands me to live for Christ, and I’m suffering, neglected, and miserable in my flesh”, but you are not wrong.  Following Him is the BEST thing for you, and the only problem is sin, not righteousness.  In the Garden, He said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:16-17).  Sin makes this world hard, and sin makes it hard on the saints. The commands are righteous and good.  Never think the problem is what God has said, as if you need to pull back or do something else.

God only commands what is best for us, and in keeping His commands, there is nothing to regret.  You will have God’s salvation as the reward of your obedience, even if you must have pain now. There will be a resurrection for the righteous.

When you find God’s will, do it, for it shall work out that you’ve obeyed.

“I Will Joy in the God of My Salvation” (Hab 3)

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls—

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation. (vs17-18)

I will rejoice in God no matter what! He says, “I will joy in the God of my salvation”.  This great truth isn’t selfishness; it recognizes the preciousness of salvation, and though the world will be destroyed in flame of fire, and though sinners around me perish, and though I don’t have all that I desire in this world, I shall be saved!  

When we see salvation as precious, then everything else is SECONDARY. I have the main thing - eternal life - and possessing this, I only have pain and trouble a little while. He says, “while we do not look a the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:18).

How can someone be inconceivably rich, having billions in the bank, and then get overly upset because his wallet was stolen, and he must miss a meal?  So it is with us. I may have heartbreak and disappointment. I may be physically infirm or persecuted and hated.  I may have many problems, see little fruit in my ministry, and desire to leave this body soon, but I also have the unsearchable riches of Christ, the eternal reward, and the thing that Jacob called “every thing”. We read, “Then Esau said, ‘I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself... And Jacob said... ‘Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have all things.’ So he urged him, and he took it” (Gen 33:9-11).  Bless God’s name that you and I put things in perspective.

Life’s present agonies are temporary and righteous, and the filling of hell is JUST.  “For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her” (Rev 19:2).  We’ve escaped this condemnation by grace alone, and we’ll sing God’s praises, agreeing with Him on Judgment Day. We’ll judge, rather then being judged as unfaithful.  

Finally, bless His name for the hope of Christ, and use it! Don’t live merely pondering what you don’t have, where you’ve gone wrong, and the pain of this present existence.  Live in the light of the gospel, and wipe your tears, resting your head upon the shoulder of His grace.  He will make you more than a conqueror, and while trouble all around you is heartbreaking, He will wipe away your tears (Rev 21:4).

“Do Not Let the Proud Oppress Me” (Ps 119:121-128)

I have done judgment and justice; leave me not to mine oppressors.  Be surety for Thy servant for good [undertake for me]; do not let the proud oppress me. (vs121-122)

First, we want defence and protection.  He says, “Do not let the proud oppress me”.  We’re not able to stand on our own, and faith, the life of Christ’s disciples, demands us to lean upon Him for everything, submitting our care into His hands. He says, “casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you (1 Pet 5:7).  We are not independent but needy. We are not in control, but we need Him to control all things for our good. And, the fact that all things work together for good doesn’t mean that we don’t pray.  Never let one scripture, security in Christ, destroy another Scripture, which teaches us to pray, “Lord, save”.

The Christian is filled with dangers and problems... woes and griefs... and yet we have God to undertake for us and deliver. He said, “Be surety for Your servant for good”. Use Him in prayer, in disappointment, and in concern.  If He’s provided Himself a sacrifice for your reconciliation, then He sees and will provide, through prayer, for all that you need.

Secondly, we want to learn.  We don’t want to  be condemned, or left to ourselves (Ps 119:123-125). He says, “My eyes fail from seeking your salvation and Your righteous word.  Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy, and teach me Your statues”. Let parents teach their children, and let us be teachers to those who have erred, rather than proud, in the flesh, and thinking that we are better (Gal 6:1-5).  Humble yourself and learn from God. Ask Him to show you the way amidst the warfare of sin and heartache. Don’t be so foolish as to say, “I don’t need You, God”.  

It is sad, but most people don’t want to learn God’s ways. They prefer their own, as if He has no power.  Yet, we believe that He’s the all-powerful Judge, so we ask Him to show us HIS way, because every path doesn’t lead to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  It’s sadness that men refuse instruction, and it’s God’s glory that He teaches ignorant sinners and gives us the grace of knowledge. Indeed, as we know better, we can do better.  Obedience is fruit, which begins with the seed of gospel truth revealed to the heart.

He won’t condemn you; He will teach. He won’t forsake you in failure, but He’ll instruct you in the path.  And, hear this instruction obediently, putting it into practice.  The Psalmist continued, “I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies”. True KNOWLEDGE is doing what God has said.

Finally, amidst the hatred of men, we admit that we love God’s instruction (Ps 119:126-128). He said, “It is time for You to act, O Lord, for they have regarded Your law as void.  Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!  Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way”.  Men HATE knowledge, so we love it, not because we’re are better naturally, but because God has worked a change, making us a distinct and separate people, even as He did Israel.  When we see men despising the truth, we also see the end of the their ways, and we love the truth even more, lest we go their way to destruction.

I talk to sinners about Christ, and I hear the stupidest things.  Men think that God doesn’t matter, and we CREATE our own reality, as if you can fly, simply because you think you can.  So, they jump from this life into hell. They deny absolute truth, and in doing so, they worship their own ideas, opinions, and ultimately, themselves.  They make a god of their own creation who deceives them but doesn’t save. We read, ““Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge,

who carry the wood of their carved image, and pray to a god that cannot save” (Is 45:20).  We love the truth, because we see lies - unrepentance, excessive pursuit of this world, and fearlessness before Christ - as foolish.

Don’t be ashamed. God’s instruction is more precious than anything, because the soul is the most precious thing that we have, by far.  Jesus taught, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (Matt 16:26)?”  We won’t carry gold to heaven, nor will we bring families, friends, or anything else! Only our SOUL will live forever or die forever in hell.

Be about your soul’s business patiently and faithfully.  Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”, and, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (John 14:15; Heb 12:2). You have very few years on earth to prepare for the biggest reward or meet with the biggest doom.  Just as the wealthy labor for their riches, seek MORE precious faith for yourself and others.  Faith is the most precious thing that we have: faith that works by love.